Survey: 90% Report Stealing Occurs from Proposals

According to a survey of top level people in the U.K.-based Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), 90% report that their agency’s ideas within proposals have been used by the client without consent or compensation.

Two thirds said they haven’t seen an uptick in idea theft since the economic downturn, while 10% say they have.

This is food for thought about on the age-old question of how much detail to include in a new business pitch. It’s tough to prove theft unless the company in question hires no firm and immediately implements a program. The inclusion of detailed strategy should be weighed against how well you know the client contact, and what the odds are of landing the account.

For a lot of programs, proposals from experienced firms can look very similar with a few differing sections for the really creative stuff along the lines of partnerships, events, and full-on re-positioning. Those are the protruding sore thumbs.

As always, if you’ve experienced this please get in touch by emailing us here, or connect with us on Twitter.